Turning Life Right Side Up
by Mary Tyler-Moore
Summary: Anne as you have always loved her. Well almost. This is Anne in the 21st century.
1. Ms Rachel is Surprised

**Chapter 1**

**Ms. Rachel is Surprised**

Marilla Cuthbert was 55. She was born in 1958 to her parents John and Ariel Cuthbert. She had two siblings. One whom she lived with her family home, her older brother, Matthew who was 65. And a sister, Mae, who was younger. Much younger. Mae was born in 1973. She ran away when she was 18. Marilla's family didn't talk about her. Which Marilla had no problem since Mae hadn't even contacted the family when their parents died in a sudden car accident in 2000.

Marilla was a local Christian elementary school librarian. Growing up, Marilla was the state champion every year in 4-H for her Foods project. Quite a triumph for a small town girl. She went to a small church college for being a librarian. She had once been married, to her high school sweetie. But it ended quickly. She had married at a very young age. And they argued far too often. So they quickly and quietly divorced. Marilla kept her hair in a tight bun. People said that when she smiled, there was no one more beautiful. But Marilla hadn't smiled in a very long time. In fact she kept her face in a tight frown. A frown that made her face sharp and hard. So, her beauty could only be seen when she was alone in her bed asleep where there was no one to see it. Marilla did however have a sharp sense of wit. And something that someone might call humor under certain circumstances.

Her brother, Matthew, was a farmer on the family property. He was a quiet man who minded his own business and his own affairs. He had always been seen as a bit peculiar. But never in a negative light. For it quite obvious that Matthew was just a shy man. He rarely spoke. And when he did, it was always quiet and brief. He went to church and sat in the back pew with his sister. Never sang a word. But followed along in the hymnal.

The small town of Beecher, Illinois, knew the brother and sister to be rather stand offish. But there was a sense of respect for the two, whose family had been there since the town was founded. In fact the Cuthberts founded the town. A statue of their great grandfather stood in the town square of Beecher. Marilla had always hated the statue, because it looked like her father when he was cross. Matthew too was afraid of the statue ever since he was a small boy.

Their home was called Green Gables because it had been built during a time when people named houses. It was an old Victorian house. It was even declared a historical landmark. It had a bronze plaque and everything. It was very near the town's library(not to be confused with the one that Marilla worked at which was a small Christian school library) which made very near the center of town. The entire house was white, except for the roof, which was green. There was a big wrap-around porch. The house seemed frozen in time. There was no air-conditioning. And no cable, only public stations. The appliances were all from the 1970's. The phones, of which there were only two, had cords. The stairs still creaked. The furniture was even older than either Marilla or Matthew, as it was the original furniture. There was a library filled with old hardback books. There were only baths. Two with claw feet. No showers. The only exception to this freeze in time was that the house did have the internet. But it was rarely used. It was something that Marilla's father had gotten. He had been a professor in Chicago. And when he retired, he wanted to keep in contact with his colleagues. And the easiest way to do so was through email. Marilla only kept it because she enjoyed playing online Euchre and Hearts. Matthew would come near the computer. It was almost as though he thought it would bite him.

The entire house was stunning. It smelled of lemons. Because Marilla loved the house dearly, and she took car of it as if it were her child. She polished the ornate wood carvings in the staircase and fireplace. She swept the floor everyday. The house's oriental rugs were vacuumed weekly. Every surface in the house was dusted regularly. The windows cleaned monthly. Especially Marilla's favorite stain glass window in the front hall. Marilla also had Matthew paint the house at least every two years or so. Just to keep the appearance up. If there was one thing she couldn't stand it was chipping paint.

This was not the only land that the two Cuthberts owned. The owned farmland which was worth a very pretty penny. But Matthew refused to sell it. He loved farming and it was the only thing that he was very good at doing. So neither Marilla nor Matthew even dreamed about selling even a small section of the land.

Aside from the school and her home, Marilla spent a great deal of time with her best friend since childhood, Rachel Lynde.

Ms. Rachel was known through out the entire area as the Mayor's sister. Many people would joke with one another that Ms. Rachel was the one who actually ran the town. And in truth, Ms. Rachel was the reason her baby brother won the the election. In fact most people referred to her brother as Ms. Rachel's brother, who also happens to be Mayor. Though people joked about, everyone was glad that Ms. Rachel was secretly in charge so to speak. Because everyone knew that Ms. Rachel got things done. She was an expert on just about everything. She ran prayer meetings at church, was the head of the LWML(Lutheran Women's Missionary League), and won the best pie at the local county fair every year. Not to mention that she knitted, she cooked, had bonfires for local high schoolers, went "bird watching", hosted the Advent Tea every year, had tickets to the local community theater(of which she was a patron), AND was the president of the book of the month club. In addition to all of that Ms. Rachel was the principal to the very same school that Marilla was librarian at. So it came as quite a shock when Ms. Rachel looked at her stack of registration papers only to discover that the Cuthberts were applying for registration for a little boy. A. Shirley.

"Marilla Cuthbert! What is this?" clamored Ms. Rachel busting into the library.

"Rachel, I must ask you to lower your volume. You are in fact in a library."

"What is the meaning of this Marilla?" replied Ms. Rachel adjusting her volume accordingly and waving the admissions paper in Marilla's face.

"Oh that," said Marilla as she scanned the paper in front of her.

"Yes this!"

"Well, since you asked. Our sister Mae passed away apparently. Years agos. Anyway they just found out about next of kin. Apparently the Chicago foster care has been backed up for ages. And they only just discovered that her son was left to me."

"Marilla Cuthbert! How could you keep this from me? Foster Care of all things!"

"Keep this from you, Rachel. I couldn't hide the fact that our dog died from you for even five minutes before you had posted a picture of the damn thing on that infernal facebook sending your love and regrets."

"Yes, well, I like to be informed."

"And it's one of the things that I admire you for."

"But Marilla, you haven't met the child! And he's been bopping about in foster care! You'll have your hands full! Foster care children are always the worst behaved. You would know this if you were an educator."

"Well, what would you have Matthew and I do? Kick the boy to the curb?"

"Of course you couldn't do that. But Marilla, what will you do?"

"I suppose just take him in and treat as best we can. Give him a home. Though I doubt I will be able to help him much, if he has a constitution like his mother."

"Well just thank your stars he is a boy! Imagine if he was a girl. Then he would be exactly like Mae! And with foster care! Lord!"

"Thankfully he is a boy. So we will have nothing to worry about. Now will we?"


	2. Matthew is Surprised

**Chapter 2**

**Matthew is Surprised**

Matthew Cuthbert loved his truck.

It was his most prized possession. It had been a gift from his father. And it was old. Very old.

Mr. John Cuthbert was a professor, so he didn't ever work on the farm. But Matthew did, and he loved it. He dropped out of High School when he was 15. He had always hated school. He didn't like to speak in class and found that arithmetic was not one of his strong points. He liked the reading alright, but found that he would get to nervous that a teacher would ask him to read aloud. And he couldn't focus on his work. And though it pained his father, Mr. John Cuthbert agreed that school may not be the best place for his eldest son. So Matthew began work on the farm. At first he was just like one of the hired hands. But it was soon evident that Matthew took very quickly to cultivating the earth. And he began to be in charge of certain jobs. He started to rotate the fields. And even began to use crops like Peanuts and Soybeans, because they were not nearly as harsh on the soil as corn. He would order things and pick them up. It was nice for Matthew because he would just have to send in a paper through the mail. No talking required. It became clear that Matthew needed a truck to pick these items up. So his father bought him an 1957 GMC farming truck. It was dark green and slightly used. But Matthew loved it.

He was driving to pick up his nephew. He had never met him, so he was very nervous. It was April 6th and he needed to plant his crops in his last field in soon. He would much rather be doing that, then meet an unknown child and have to sit with him for twenty minutes. He was supposed to pick up the kid at 3:00, since that was when the train arrived. But Matthew had dawdled, and hadn't even left until 3:10. Now it was 3:33 as he pulled into the station's parking lot. Seeing as how the closet train stop in Beecher was twenty minutes away.

Matthew walked up to the station. It was bizarre seeing a station like this. It was shiny and newly built. Before it had just been a stop. A cement slab where the train would stop. But now there was a building. And it seemed like a waste of taxes. Though a lot things that were being done seemed like a waste of tax money to Matthew. Not that he would say that to anyone. Not because he wasn't a libertarian, but because he didn't like arguments.

Matthew climbed up the cement steps that led to the train stop. It was hard on his knees, seeing as how they were steep. But he made his way up just fine. He finally got to the top and looked around. There was an black boy sitting on one of the benches with his head phones on. A white woman with dyed hair reading a magazine and tapping her acrylic nail against the bench. And a girl with fiery red hair tied into two braids standing right in front of Matthew staring at him.

This girl with the red hair made Matthew feel uneasy. She seemed nervous. And Matthew always had empathetic nerves for people. She was clearly waiting for someone as she had an old backpack filled so much it was about to burst. Though that wasn't too impressive since it was a rather tiny bag. She had an over sized flannel shirt on and a beat up pair of jeans with a huge hole in the knee. She had on a worn out pair of sneakers.

Matthew walked passed the girl and looked down to see if there were anymore people. He didn't see anyone else. Matthew kept scanning the platform. But there was no one else.

"Um, excuse me. Are you Matthew Cuthbert?"asked the red head.

Matthew looked astonished that this wisp of a girl knew who he was. He nodded.

"Oh thank God! I thought you'd never show up. The nun said she couldn't wait any longer and just to wait for you. She said that I should be fine, that she had informed the man downstairs that he should stop anyone who tried to take me and ask them for I.D. I decided that if you didn't show up. I would just ride the trains. Like a hobo. I read a book once about a girl who jumped trains. And I figured that would be a fun way to live your life. I'm Anne by the way. I almost forgot to tell you my name! Isn't that funny. I already knew your's so it didn't seem important to tell you mine."

Matthew gave the girl a shy smile. Matthew had never met a girl who wasn't afraid of him. Whenever he went to church or to drop something off at the school for Marilla, the little girls ran away. It was almost as though they were afraid he might gobble them up for dinner. But this one chatted on and on as if she hadn't a thing to worry about with him. What Matthew couldn't figure out was what a girl was doing here. He thought it was a boy. Maybe he just misheard what Marilla said.

"I'm sorry I was late," he said leaning down to pick up her bag.

"Oh no! Don't do that! I've got to hold it just the right way or the zipper flies open. It's a pretty old bag."

"Well alright then. The truck's this way."

They started on their way. Matthew showed his license to the guard. And they continued on their way to the truck. All the while Anne chatted on.

"Is the house very far? The nun said it was 35 minutes away. I've never been to the country. The nun said that the city air must be what kept me talking so. That I couldn't keep the smog in my lungs so I had to talk it out. And that the country air might make my tongue lie flat in my mouth. I've always talked. The lady who had me before I found out about you and Aunt Marilla, said that I could talk a beak off a bird. She had about 6 other kids with her. I didn't stay too long with her. Only about two weeks. That was the shortest time. I don't stay in one place for too long. It'll be nice to have a place to call home. The nun said it had a name. What is it? She didn't say."

"Well, folks call it Green Gables," said Matthew as he started the trucks engine.

"Oh! I love it when people name homes. President Jefferson named his house. So did President Washington. I guess most people don't have large houses though and that's why they don't name them. But I think I would always name my house. And Green Gables is such a pretty name. Did you name it that?"

"My great grandfather did," replied Matthew proudly.

"So he would be my great great grandfather. Isn't it funny that we're related and we never even knew one another ever. I sometimes imagine that I'm actually related to like the Queen of England. I might be. After all I didn't know about you before! And you didn't know about me! OOHH what's that?"

They were passing through the Orchard. Anne's reaction was understandable. Everyone loved to pass through the Orchard especially in the spring when all the flowers were in bloom.

"Well, now, this here is the Orchard," replied Matthew. It had been a relatively newer addition to the family farm. Ariel Cuthbert had always loved the Orchard and so when the owners wanted to sell it, John Cuthbert bought it for her. "It's part of the family farm."

"OH that name won't do at all! Won't you let me name it proper?"

"Well, now, I suppose that's all right."

"The White Way of Delight. That's what it should be called! Do you think we might put a sign there? I have always wanted to name things. It had been my dream since I was small. It would make me so happy to name a real life place!"

"I think that's a very fitting name,"replied Matthew.

Anne continued to chatter so. Much to the surprise of Matthew, he found he rather liked listening to her prattle. So when she asked if it was alright that she talk on so, he said that he didn't mind in the slightest. The car ride was pleasant for both. Matthew happy to not have to fill up the silence with his voice, except for the occasional short sentence. And Anne getting to talk her self silly. She talked about how she imagined new things.

"Like this shirt," she started. "I hated it when I first saw it. But then I imagined that it was a flow-y top that I saw on a lady once in Chicago. And then I didn't mind it so much. I love to imagine things. It helps too. It makes bad things seem not so bad. I never have to be scared or sad when I have my imagination. It makes the bad stuff not so bad."

They passed many beautiful things that made Anne sigh with delight. She renamed many things. Like the Blythe house and Main Road. But Matthew's favorite new name was for Barry's Pond which was now dubbed, The Lake of Shining Waters. Finally they arrived in the town square, not 2 minutes away from Green Gables.

"Now if you look right over there. That's Green Gables."

"Oh, Uncle Matthew!" The two had decided that she might call him that. Matthew found he rather enjoyed it.

"I couldn't even imagine something better!"


	3. Marilla is Surprised

**Chapter 3**

**Marilla is Surprised**

Anne walked into Green Gables. Her mouth fell open. Never had she been in a place that she instinctively new that this was her home. It was perfect. If the outside couldn't have been fixed with her imagination, then the inside would have been ruined had Anne even thought to imagine something other than what it was.

"Matthew! Is that you?" hollered Marilla from the kitchen.

"Yes."

"Well, bring him in here. I am baking a pie for the church Pitch-In on Sunday. I would make it on Saturday but I'd rather get it ready now."

Matthew came in with Anne following closely behind.

"Whose that? Where is he?"exclaimed Marilla.

"There wasn't no boy. Just her. I thought I might have heard wrong."

"Really now Matthew! We've been talking about a "him" for a week now."

Suddenly everything clicked together for Anne. "Him? I'm not going to live here? It was wrong? I don't belong here?"

"Well now. We don't know that for certain!" said Matthew.

"We were just told that you were a boy."

"Oh! I should have known not to get my hopes up. That I wouldn't ever belong any one place. I never have. Why should I now?"

And with that Anne burst into tears.

Marrilla didn't quite know how to respond. She rarely dealt with crying children. If a child cried in the library a teacher or volunteering parent usually handled it. She hadn't comforted a crying child since her sister was small.

"Well, there now. We don't know for certain that you don't belong here. We'll go to Chicago tomorrow and straighten this out."

Anne seemed to compose herself. So Marilla asked her what her name was.

"Oh, it's Anne. Plain boring Anne."

"Anne is a very good name." replied Marilla trying to cheer the girl up. "I rather like it myself."

"Oh it's fine enough. It's just average is all. I'd much prefer something like Elizabeth. Or Cordelia."

"Anne is a very fine name. You don't need anything other than Anne."

"I suppose so. It's a lot better when it's spelled with an "e" at the end."

Marilla looked at the child blankly. "An "e" at the end? What kind of difference does that make?"

"Well it gives it a proper ending. Everything should have a happy ending. And if not a happy one, a complete one. Ann with out an "e" at the end, doesn't end at all. It just sits there on the page. Incomplete. BUT Anne with an "e" at the end. Well it speaks volumes. It finishes the name properly."

"Names are not books," replied Marilla. But she complied with the red-head's request. "Now Anne with an "e" at the end, what is your full name?"

"Anne Shirley. Shirley was my father's last name."

"I see. And what was his first name?"

"I don't know. I never met him." Anne quickly looked away.

Marilla lowered her eyes,"I see. And what about your mother's name?"

Anne kept her gaze off of Marilla.

"I never met her either. Well, I met her when I was a baby. But she left me when I was only 6 months old."

"Well, we'll just figure it out tomorrow at the orphanage. Okay?"

Anne nodded.

"I suppose you're tired?"said Marilla getting up without waiting for a reply.

She led Anne up the stairs. She had prepared a room for her. Just a plain room. It didn't have much to it. Marilla figured that the child would know best how to prepare it. She had painted the walls white recently. And Matthew went and got a new mattress.

Marilla just did not know what to think of this situation. Never would she have guessed that something like this could happen. Not that she knew anything about her sister. For all she knew Mae had more than one kid. They would of course keep Anne if she was in fact her sister's girl. It would be wrong not to. But how could they keep a child if they had no claim to her? It would be wrong. She did feel badly for this little girl though. Part of her wanted to keep her no matter what. But it just couldn't be done. Neither she nor Matthew knew a thing about raising children. And one would be hard enough.

"Well here we are." Marilla didn't want to say that this was Anne's room, because she didn't want to give the poor girl false hope. "You have pajamas?"

"Yes!" replied Anne. She pulled out a big t-shirt. "It glows in the dark. I was in girl scouts for a little bit. And we went to the field museum to spend the night. And we got this," Anne was holding up a navy blue shirt with a dinosaur skeleton on it. "But then I had to go to a new house. And I wasn't in girl scouts anymore."

Marilla just looked at the old t shirt.

"I see. Well the bathroom is just down the hall. It's all your own. And we have a tooth brush and tooth paste for you."

"Oh thank you."

"Yes, well. Goodnight."

"Um, Marilla?"

Marilla stopped and turned around.

"I just wanted to thank you," said Anne. "I mean, I know I might not stay here. But I mean it's very nice of you to have all of this ready for me anyway. I mean the tooth brush and everything."

"Yes, well, it was for family. Matthew and I were raised to love and help our family,"and with that Marilla walked out of the room and went downstairs.

She found Matthew sitting at the kitchen table with two cups of tea.

"Well, this is a fine situation," started Marilla, "I don't know how this could have happened."

"I feel awfully bad about it."

"Well why should you? You weren't at fault. And you couldn't just leave the child at the station."

"Still. Not knownin' her mom or dad, not even havin' a home. That isn't anyway for a child to live."

"I know. But what are we to do. What if she isn't our niece. Are we just to leave our nephew on the street?"

"Well, I suppose not. But still."

"Matthew, we can't. It just isn't possible. I wish it was different. But it isn't. If that girl isn't our relative, we can not keep her."


	4. Morning at Green Gables

**Chapter 4**

**Morning at Green Gables**

Sun streamed in through the window as Anne woke up. She sat up and looked around at the plain room. At first she was very confused as to where she could be. But then she remembered. She was at Green Gables. How could she have forgotten? Anne didn't quite know what to think. Because she may not get to stay here. But it was morning and Anne found she could only be positive in the morning. For even if though there was a chance she didn't belong, there was also a chance that she did. How could life be bad if there was a chance that she might live in Green Gables?

So she brushed the dream sand from her eyes and got a better look at her maybe-room.

It was very plain. White and clean and full of possibilities. There was a desk in an alcove, a big heavy bureau across from the bed, a little bedside table with an old ornate lamp next to it, and a huge window. Anne immediately jumped from her bed and rushed to the window to get a better view of the little town of Beecher.

But as she got closer she let out a small shriek. It was snowing!

Marilla came bursting through the doors.

"What's wrong? Have you fallen?"

"It's snowing!"

Marilla's concern melted off her face, "You musnt't shout like that. I thought you were injured."

"Oh, I am very sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you. But it's spring! I have never seen it snow when it was this warm out."

"It isn't snow. It's a cottonwood tree," replied Marilla. But Anne still looked quite confused, so Marilla continued, "You see that tree in front of the window? It has these pods that release little bits of cotton like fibers into the air. It's how the seeds get distributed."

"Oh that's very smart. It must be a very clever tree to do something like that."

"Trees do not think."

"Oh sure they do! What else would a tree do all day? It can't move."

Not knowing how to respond to such things, Marilla curtly said, "It's time you get ready for the day it's already 9:30. Come down for breakfast when you are done."

Anne nodded. She quickly got her clothing out of her bed and went to the bathroom where she brushed her teeth with her new toothbrush and put on her old clothes. She looked and the mirror and sighed as she saw her hair. Ratty and Red. She redid her two braids and quickly came down the stairs. Marilla nodded in approval of Anne's quickness. She was glad that the child hadn't dawdled so. Marilla gestured to Anne's spot which had a hot bowl of oatmeal in front of it. Anne sat down and Marilla went to the sink to start on the dishes. But before she could pick up a pot to scrub, Anne spoke up.

"Do you always eat in the kitchen?"

"Yes. It's easier to clean. And we don't need to use the dining room unless we have company."

"When I have my own dining room I will always eat in there. At the house before the orphanage there was a beautiful dining room. We weren't ever allowed in there though. Mrs. Clay said that we would mess it up. She was nice for the most part. But I wish she would have let us eat in the dining room. You think we can eat in there sometime?"

"Well, I'm not sure we will get the chance. I'm taking you to Chicago today. To straighten this up."

"Oh," replied Anne. She went back to her oatmeal. She seemed to eat mechanically. As if she was trying very hard not to think. Anne kept her eyes fixed on the window outside. She barely blinked. This sudden change of character made Marilla uncomfortable. It seemed unnatural coming from the bubbly girl. So she was quite glad when Anne finished her bowl and brought it to the sink.

"Do you need me to dry the dishes?"

"That's fine," replied Marilla handing Anne a towel.

"I'm very good at cleaning the dishes. I had to do it at the orphanage. It's a nice chore because you don't have to think much. So I would let my mind wander. The nuns didn't like me to daydream much. They said it would be better if I focused my thoughts in prayer. But when I would clean the dishes, I could think about whatever I liked without getting yelled at. Once I imagined I was Cinderella. It was one of the movies we got to watch at the orphanage. I didn't get to watch many movies at the other places. Usually just at school and those were usually educational. But I loved Cinderella. Her parents died and she had an awful life. But she ended up alright in the end, huh?"

Not knowing how to respond Marilla just nodded.

"I haven't seen very many movies. I was only at the orphanage 5 months. And we could only watch movies once a month as a treat. So that's five. And once I got taken to the movies by a foster mom. She bought me a soda and a popcorn. But then she got pregnant. So she stopped being a foster mom." Anne stopped talking for a moment and then suddenly said, "That's a pretty plant in the window sill. What's it's name?"

Marilla was relieved. She finally knew how to respond to this odd wisp of a girl. "It's an African Violet."

"I meant it's name name! Not it's species. Like Bernadette! Or Susan!"

The relief that Marilla felt disappeared, "I don't give plants don't get human names."

"Oh," replied Anne. And then she slowly and shyly said, "May I give it a name?"

"I don't know what giving it a name will do, but if you want to, go ahead."

Anne's face lit up at once. "Thank you. I love to name things. Names are so important you know. They give a sense of purpose. And nothing truly belongs to someone unless it has a name. Let's see, how about Clarissa. I knew a girl once named Clarissa. She had long blonde hair. I love blonde hair. Say what would you call my hair?"

"Red."

Anne let out a sigh, "Yes, I thought that was what you would say."

"Well, that's the color it is."

"I know. But I hate it. I have never liked my hair. It's so bright."

"Well, it's what the Lord gave you. So be thankful."

"That's what the nun's said," Anne grumbled as she finished drying the last plate.

"Well, I suppose you should go get your things," said Marilla. It seemed a cruel thing to say. Especially after spending this time with the girl. But if she had no claim over the girl, and it was much more cruel to keep her hopes up.

Anne went up the stairs to get her bag. And when she came back, she was holding the toothbrush. "I wasn't sure what to do with this. I mean I didn't want you to think I stole it. But I didn't figure you needed it. I mean I used it and all. I swear I wouldn't steal it."

"Good heaven's child! It's only a toothbrush. You can have it. Here is a baggy so it doesn't get your clothes damp."

Relief visibly swept over Anne.

Marilla couldn't help but wonder what kind of life this child led, where she was afraid to take a toothbrush with her.


End file.
